Breakaway connectors are used in various applications including in connections between military headphones and military vehicles. Breakaway connectors are advantageous in that the connection is easily broken upon a predetermined amount of force rather than a connection that resists any disconnection. This prevents the equipment attached to one side of the connection from being damaged due to a pulling force from the other side of the connection. In military applications, such as military headphones attached to military vehicles, a breakaway connection allows the wearer to easily disconnect the headphones without removing the headphones from the wearer. The breakaway connection also prevents the wearer of the headphones from being dragged along with the vehicle if the vehicle were to move while the wearer was outside of the vehicle. At present, most breakaway connectors for military applications are seven pins. There is a desire for improved connectors having alternate pin counts and arrangements, however, the cost of changing to a different connector is prohibitive.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,415 to Cramer et al. discloses a three-prong electric plug in which the third prong is a retractable U-shaped ground pin. This feature allows for the plug to be compatible with a two-prong outlet or a three-prong outlet. The third prong includes a spring to keep it in a projected position, and is retracted by rotating the third prong. A disadvantage of this device is that it is not a breakaway connector. Additionally, the retractable prong is only capable of connecting to a ground connection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,192 to Long et al. discloses a breakaway electrical connector having a latching mechanism that is matable and detachable upon application of a certain level of axial tensile force. This is achieved by using spring-loaded guide pins on one of the two connectors that provide a resisting force to the second connector. A disadvantage of this device is that the guide pins are only used to prevent an “unlatched” connection and are not part of the electrical connection.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,910,911 to Mellott et al. discloses an electrical connector in which the plug portion will break away from the terminal portion when the force applied to the plug portion reaches a specific magnitude in order to prevent damage to the connector. The contacts are spring loaded and retractable so that the contacts can be substantially flush with the mating surface. A disadvantage of this device is that the connector is not intermatable with connectors having a lesser number of wires or contacts.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,070,458 to Axenbock et al. discloses a spring-loaded contact connector having axially displaceable contacts. The spring-loaded contact connectors are used to provide a stable connection under a variety of environmental conditions. A disadvantage of this device is that the connector is not intermatable with connectors having a lesser number of wires or contacts.
What is desired, therefore, is a breakaway connector that is intermatable with connectors having differing numbers of contacts.